Sunday Times returns as most influential medium

An analysis of the Agenda-Setting Media (ASM) for 2013

Pretoria, 13 February 2014: Sunday Times has taken back the honours of being the most influential medium for 2013. This is after losing out to City Press in 2012; but City Press has not lost all its lustre as yet as it remains in a close second.

Sunday Times and City Press are both influential because of their unique exposés on politically connected individuals. “Politics and crime stories are picked up quickly across media, and being able to get the differentiating viewpoint only positions the medium higher up on the ‘influential charts’,” acknowledges Stephano Radaelli, senior researcher at Media Tenor.

The media analysis further reveals that Beeld is growing its influential stature by holding on as South Africa’s most influential daily print medium. “Beeld has worked hard to recognise more women in politics, regardless of whether this has to do with their higher proportion of DA coverage,” continues Radaelli, “Globally, media are struggling to give equal representation to women, yet international reports suggest that women’s representation in business and politics is at its highest, particularly in South Africa.”

Most of South Africa’s media are recognising that with the advent of EFF, the country is moving towards a three-party state. However, Sunday Times and Beeld are among the few who remain fixed on only representing two parties in their political coverage, while all other parties are almost invisible as they share out the remaining tenth.

These results are based on an analysis of 8 328 quotes from other media in 47 opinion-leading print and TV news. For 20 years, Media Tenor’s mission has been to contribute to objective, diverse and newsworthy reporting by bringing together the diverse parties who impact and are affected by the news. Media Tenor’s global research projects include analyses of election campaigns, investor relations, public diplomacy, corporate communications and other topics critical to news makers and news audiences.

For additional information, or to schedule an interview with Media Tenor, please contact Stephano Radaelli on +27 12 369 7760 or +27 82 645 3041; e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.